Kecia and Riley met me before dawn at my favorite sunrise spot in Joshua Tree for their little adventurous elopement. From this viewpoint, you get a gorgeous view of the expansive Coachella Valley below, and a sky full of stars above. It’s the perfect place to exchange vows as the sun rises behind you.

They wanted everything simple and let me take the reins on location scouting, planning, and even officiating (shout out to Universal Life Church for making a minister of this little photographer). After watching the world turn from purple to blue to a glowing orange, we basked in the warm light of day and traipsed around the boulders of Joshua Tree.

As the sun turned from warm to scorching, we headed back to their Twentynine Palms AirBnB for a cinnamon roll breakfast. Kecia and Riley kicked off their shoes, listened to some of their favorite music, and shared some couch cuddles. That’s the beauty of these adventurous elopements–- it’s not all about killing ourselves beyond the point of enjoyment. Sometimes it means just having the flexibility to know when to take pause and let it be a normal, relaxing day. 

The desert can be incredibly harsh and unforgiving, so their trust in letting me follow the good light was invaluable in creating the ideal photo experience. We adjusted the specifics of locations and plans as we needed to, and I couldn’t be happier with the day that resulted!